topic Re: Wide angle lens in EF & RF Lenses

Wide angle lens

LANmillwork — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 14:34:46 GMT

Hey all new to the forums. Looking for a wide angle lens for my rebel 3ti. I am a woodworker by trade and sometimes find myself in small rooms that I just cant get into frame. Mainly kitchens. I would like to be able to fit an entire kitchen or room into one picture. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Re: Wide angle lens

Waddizzle — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 15:20:02 GMT

@LANmillwork wrote:
Hey all new to the forums. Looking for a wide angle lens for my rebel 3ti. I am a woodworker by trade and sometimes find myself in small rooms that I just cant get into frame. Mainly kitchens. I would like to be able to fit an entire kitchen or room into one picture. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

What is your budget? If you are indoors, then available light becomes a factor.

One low budget solution is a good tripod, and Canon’s Photostitch Software. Combine multiple shots into one larger, highly detailed image. I like to roll the camera to portrait position. If I overlap shots by 1/3, three of them yields close to a 3:2 aspect ratio.

Re: Wide angle lens

LANmillwork — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 16:16:42 GMT

<600. Was looking at the canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM or EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM

Re: Wide angle lens

Waddizzle — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 16:41:03 GMT

@LANmillwork wrote:
<600. Was looking at the canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM or EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM

I forgot to ask what lens, or focal length are you using now that is not wide enough.

Interesting choices. Are you looking specifically for a full frame EF lens? The EF-S 10-18mm and EF-S 10-22mm are ultra wide angle lenses for the EF-S mount. I would recommend the 10-22mm in dirty work environment, because it has a metal body, and internal focusing and zooming.

Neither. EF-S lens is sealed against dust and moisture. The 24mm is not sealed, either. But, the 17-40 is sealed. If ~~that~~ [the 17-40] lens is wide enough for your needs, then go for it. I would add a B+W XS-Pro Clear MRC-Nano 007 filter, to protect the front element.

Re: Wide angle lens

LANmillwork — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 16:59:41 GMT

These would be end of project photos so construction dust and debris would not be an issue.

Re: Wide angle lens

ebiggs1 — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 17:00:03 GMT

"Looking for a wide angle lens for my rebel 3ti"

Two main choices for you. First the Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM Lens. And the little bit better EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens. Off brand there is the Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8 Lens. One of the very few Tok's I can recommend. It has a fast and constant f2.8 aperture a big plus. Tamron has the Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD Lens.

Best is to keep your Canon all Canon but the others do work well. Not a big money advantage in any of them with the EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM being the cheapest.

Re: Wide angle lens

ebiggs1 — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 17:11:36 GMT

" I am a woodworker by trade ..."

I am going to assume you don't want to be a photographer? A couple thoughts from a long time photographer, one WA and UWA lenses can add a lot of distortion to your shots. You will need to learn how to avoid this as much as possible. Keeping everything level and perpendicular will help. Not a big deal for a woodworker!. Right? Sometimes light will be an issue. You may need to add a high performance flash to your camera gear. Lastly you may want to add some basic post editing skills to your tool box. A good one is Photoshop Elements which is on sale right now.

Last thought if you don't see these suggestions a likely, hire a photographer to do your shots.

Re: Wide angle lens

ebiggs1 — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 17:14:13 GMT

" Was looking at the canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM or EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM"

You do not want either of these. You have the basic kit lens that came with your camera? These will not help since they are in the same focal range. 24mm is not very WA on a Rebel T3i.

Re: Wide angle lens

RobertTheFat — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 19:36:34 GMT

@ebiggs1 wrote:
" I am a woodworker by trade ..."

I am going to assume you don't want to be a photographer? A couple thoughts from a long time photographer, one WA and UWA lenses can add a lot of distortion to your shots. You will need to learn how to avoid this as much as possible. Keeping everything level and perpendicular will help. Not a big deal for a woodworker!. Right? Sometimes light will be an issue. You may need to add a high performance flash to your camera gear. Lastly you may want to add some basic post editing skills to your tool box. A good one is Photoshop Elements which is on sale right now.

Last thought if you don't see these suggestions a likely, hire a photographer to do your shots.

I second Ernie's recommendation of an add-on flash unit. For the kind of work you'll be doing, you'll definitely want to use bounce flash (probably with a diffuser, since kitchens have lots of reflective surfaces), of which the built-in flash is incapable.

I'm not so sanguine about using Photoshop Elements, though, unless you're already familiar with Adobe software. Canon's free Digital Photo Professional editor should be entirely sufficient for your purposes.

Re: Wide angle lens

Waddizzle — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 20:17:36 GMT

@RobertTheFat wrote:
@ebiggs1 wrote:
" I am a woodworker by trade ..."

I am going to assume you don't want to be a photographer? A couple thoughts from a long time photographer, one WA and UWA lenses can add a lot of distortion to your shots. You will need to learn how to avoid this as much as possible. Keeping everything level and perpendicular will help. Not a big deal for a woodworker!. Right? Sometimes light will be an issue. You may need to add a high performance flash to your camera gear. Lastly you may want to add some basic post editing skills to your tool box. A good one is Photoshop Elements which is on sale right now.

Last thought if you don't see these suggestions a likely, hire a photographer to do your shots.
I second Ernie's recommendation of an add-on flash unit. For the kind of work you'll be doing, you'll definitely want to use bounce flash (probably with a diffuser, since kitchens have lots of reflective surfaces), of which the built-in flash is incapable.

I'm not so sanguine about using Photoshop Elements, though, unless you're already familiar with Adobe software. Canon's free Digital Photo Professional editor should be entirely sufficient for your purposes.

He would be photographing static scenes. A quality tripod is more important than a flash. In fact, a tripod can make up for the lack of a flash. You can slow down the shutter as much as you need. Using natural light is easier to use than a flash. Cheaper, too. Just put the camera in Av mode, set the shutter delay time, and take the shot. The only trick is leveling the camera.

I have to agree with you regarding PSE. The application has become a complete waste of money because it will no longer perform lens correction. Canon's free DPP software is far and away the better choice for the casual photographer.